


5 Times Natasha Bought A Gift, and the 1 Time They Made It All To Pepper

by Kuailong



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 5 Things, F/F, Fluff, fyeahblackpepper exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 05:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6142867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuailong/pseuds/Kuailong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You really are bad at this.” The words were followed by a laugh as Pepper approached her, until the other woman was standing close enough that Natasha could smell the faint scent of vanilla that seemed to be Pepper’s usual scent. Still, something about Pepper’s statement made her pull away suddenly.</p>
<p>“Bad at what?” She asked, hesitant and looking at the floor as best as she was able to.</p>
<p>“Asking someone out.” Pepper’s answer didn’t alleviate the sudden anger roiling in her gut.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times Natasha Bought A Gift, and the 1 Time They Made It All To Pepper

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the fuckyeahblackpepper exchange. For mintyquartz

“Nat, what’re you doing?” Natasha didn’t look up at the entrance of her partner, she was too busy trying to re-assemble the clock she had bought.

“Nothing. I’m doing nothing. Go away.” Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and there were clock parts scattered around the floor she was occupying.

“Right, and nothing looks like Tony’s workshop threw up on your apartment floor.” She scoffed and prodded the piece in front of her. She couldn’t remember where it had been in the assembled clock, and she was beginning to regret not returning the clock for another one. 

“For one, Stark’s workshop is a hell of a lot more messy than this on a regular basis. Secondly, go away.” She turned on him, brandishing a screwdriver at her partner. Clint, in all his annoying glory, was leaning against the far wall, watching her with a bemused expression.

“Okay. You hate cuckoo clocks. I’ve seen you shoot them to get to shut up. So why are you assembling one on your floor.” Natasha’s eyes narrowed.

“How did you know this was a cuckoo clock, it’s just a pile of parts.” She was suddenly very suspicious, and considering standing and stabbing Clint with the screwdriver. 

“Because I’ve built them? Nat, what are you doing with a cuckoo clock?” Her eyes narrowed further, and the screwdriver changed position from mildly threatening to carve out your organs with this tool. And she wasn’t going to answer his question, at least, not until his first sentence registered. And then she reconsidered her stance.

“It was broken. And I didn’t want to return it and get a different one because this one is perfect. So I decided to try and fix it, except so much of this stuff looks alike that I can no longer remember what goes where. Which is pathetic, on my part, considering I’ve disassembled and reassembled more firearms collectively than one person should. But here I am, and at this point I’m about to go find something else.” Clint’s eyebrows rose and she gave him the most unimpressed look. And then he shrugged and walked over to where Nat was stationed on the floor, and sat down right beside her. 

“And what, exactly, do you think you’re doing?” Her tone was threatening, but not in such a way that Clint seemed worried. 

“Helping you fix your fuck-up.” He said simply, removing the part from her hand brazenly and picking up other pieces. Natasha’s eyebrows rose as within minutes her pile of parts started to resemble the inner workings of a clock. She could have killed him, out of pure spite and frustration, if not for the fact that he definitely knew what he was doing, and Pepper’s birthday was in two days. She didn’t have time to really mess around, not if she was going to do what she had planned. 

“Fine.” Her tone was huffy, but she didn’t care. This was an embarrassment, but at least he had stopped asking her what it was all about. 

“You know, it’s pretty obvious this is a gift for someone.” Or she was wrong and he was going to continue to pry. “But I can’t figure out who.” At that Natasha snorted, glancing over at her partner.

“And you’re not going to.” The tone of Natasha’s voice made it clear that the conversation was over, and Clint just huffed and started putting the clock back together.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

“Come on, Natasha. I want to go home. My feet hurt.” She sighed, shoving the car keys in Clint’s hand. 

“Then go home, I’m not done here yet.” She was fed up with his whining and antics, and frustrated that she hadn’t been able to find what she had been scouring Manhattan for. Between Clint’s bullshit and the fact that it seemed that the entire city lacked in anything close to what she wanted, her patience was growing thin. And getting Clint out of her hair would alleviate some of her frustration.

“What? How’re you getting home.” A quick glance told Natasha that he was looking between her and the keys in confusion.

“I’ll walk. You’re distracting me, go away.” This was the last possible store that would have the thing she needed, but everywhere seemed to be lacking in a fashionable concealed carry purse. Or even a bag, she’d have settled for that. But nothing matched Pepper’s style, and she needed to have something that matched. 

“I’ll go wait in the car.” His annoyed huff would have normally given her pleasure, but at the moment it just irritated her. And as soon as he left, she really started prowling the little shop. 

She almost took a little pleasure in how long it took her to browse and examine the bags in the store, feeling the quality and design of each one. She was thorough, this needed to be perfect. And roomy, Natasha hadn’t decided on the kind of handgun she was getting Pepper, but the bag needed to allow for a variety of sizes. She finally ended up deciding on a medium-sized black leather purse. It would match well enough, it was extremely high quality, and had a large enough conceal pocket.

 

————————————————————————————————————————————————

“Right, so now we’re at a gunsmith’s. Last week it was shopping for purses, the week before you had a cuckoo clock, and now we’re going to the fancy artisan bullshit gunsmith because you need to pick something up.” Natasha just snorted, walking a bit faster on the sidewalk in an attempt to lose her grouchy partner. 

“Naaaat.” He whined, loud enough that heads were turning in their direction as they walked.

“Clint, stop being a child. You don’t have to be here, you insist every single time to follow me out on these excursions.” She was growing more annoyed than the last time he had followed her out. Stubborn and overly curious were to words Nat used to grudgingly describe Clint Barton, and at the moment she wanted to stab him for it. Still, his disgusted noise that followed did bring her pleasure. 

She kept walking ahead of him, the shop wasn’t far, but it was so deep into the edge of Manhattan that getting to it was interesting enough. Still, she had ordered the gun last week, and it was finished. She wanted it now, even if it would sit around until Natasha finally had the courage to give everything to Pepper. Just like the clock. And the bag.

Eventually she did hear Clint catch up, but he wisely stayed silent as they entered the small shop. There was only a woman in the visible part, positioned behind a glass counter filled with firearms of various types and sizes. When the woman looked up, and looked between the both of them, Natasha nodded at her and she vanished behind the curtain.

“So, what did you order?” Clint was speaking as he started to browse the shop. Nat knew he preferred bows, but did have an interest in firearms. And the ones on display were both decorative and functional.

“A gun.” She answered, approaching the counter and leaning the small of her back against it. 

“No shit, what kind?” She shrugged, knowing he couldn’t see her with his back facing the back of the store. But he had already gotten distracted by one of the displays, allowing Natasha a moment to breathe. And do business.

“I’m sorry it took longer than expected, miss Romanoff. Finding the right metals were harder than we anticipated, even with your resources.” The woman emerged from the curtain, and Natasha turned to face her, already eying the gun in the woman’s hands. 

“It’s fine. There’s not a time crunch. Besides, it certainly looks worth the wait.” Holding out a hand to take the firearm, she licked her lips. If it were practical, Natasha would probably have a gun this artistic. But she wasn’t, even if her favored guns were more specialized and custom, something as delicate as the carvings and engravings on the handgun in her hand wouldn’t last. She was hard on her weapons, but when she couldn’t repair them herself, she had places in almost every major city where she could have repairs done. 

“Is it to your satisfaction?” The words caused Natasha to look up, having gotten a little mesmerized by the sheer artistry of the weapon.

“It’s perfect.” She said, hefting it in her hands. It was everything she wanted, and it would suit Pepper perfectly. 

————————————————————————————————————————————————

“You can stop coming with me, you know. Especially if you keep whining like a child. I’m not your mother, and you don’t need to follow me while I shop.” She knew she wouldn’t be rid of Clint until he figured out what was going on, but she could certainly try. And she had a very valid point, his role in this was optional. 

“Nat, you’re going to buy jewelry. If I didn’t already know something was going on, I’d know now. And I’m too damn curious for my own good, so either tell me what’s going on or deal with me being here.” She had to have rolled her eyes hard enough to hurt, but she already had a headache from spending the day shopping around various stores in an attempt to complete all of her errands on the first free day she had gotten in weeks. In the background, her partner made a disgusted noise and wandered off to the edge of the tiny shop. And she let her attention drift back to the jeweler and the chain in her hands.

“I’m sure I can easily complete your request, miss Romanoff. As curious as it is, it should only take a few days to finish it up.” Natasha nodded, threading the silver chain through her fingers. “I’m assuming you’ll want a chain with it as well, am I correct.” Again, another nod. Then she held the chain back out to the man and smiled at him.

“You’re used to my requests, Charles. We both know you know exactly what I want. I’ve already told you this is a gift, but the usual requests are the same.” The elderly man in front of her nodded, returning her a smile of his own.

“Of course. I am always pleased to do business with you. If you would give me three days, I believe I’ll have it ready for you.” Nat nodded, three days was plenty of time. 

“Thank you, Charles. I wouldn’t come any where else, nothing comes close to your quality.” And after a quick handshake Natasha turned to leave the store, grabbing Clint by the collar and dragging him out. 

“So what was that all about, it sounded like you knew the old man.” Her partner managed, after he wiggled out of her grasp. Natasha just smirked.

“I do. I’ve been getting pieces done by him for quite a long time.” She slipped her hands in her pockets, seeking the warmth of her coat in the crisp December air. 

“You said something about a locket, but I’m still really confused.” Nat stopped, and side-eyed Clint for a moment.

“I’m not going to tell you why or who, but yes, I’m having a locket commissioned.” And she left it at that, walking forward and leaving Clint behind. 

 

————————————————————————————————————————————————

“Nat, just get the strawberry cake. I’m sure whoever you’re trying to woo won’t mind.” Clint was standing behind her, watching her stare at the only cake left in the entire bakery. And it was strawberry flavored.

“I can’t. Strawberry is not acceptable.” Besides, the intended recipient was allergic to strawberries. And that was not acceptable. She was trying to date Pepper, not kill her. And she was ignoring the mention of wooing someone.

“This is the fourth bakery we’ve been to, just get the stupid cake.” Her partner was obviously frustrated, but it wasn’t like she had asked him to come along.

“Then we go to a fifth.” And with that, she turned heel and walked out of the little bakery.

“Natasha, it’s the day before Valentine’s day, no where else is going to have more cake.” She pretended like she didn’t hear him and started down the sidewalk. There was one more place to check, but she was kicking herself for not thinking ahead. Still, as frustrated as Barton seemed to be, he was following behind her.

It was a good twenty minute walk to the next bakery, but the results were fruitful. They had a single triple chocolate cake left, and she bought it instantly, and within minutes they were on their way back to the car. 

“So, you’re still not telling me who?” A simple shrug of her shoulders, careful of the delicate cake in her hands. Clint made a rather interesting noise of disgust, but he stopped asking for the moment. And Natasha managed to get the cake back to the Tower in one piece, surprisingly enough.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

With having bought the cake, she really couldn’t put it off any longer. The cake was perishable, and even if asking someone out on Valentine’s day was cheesy, she had certainly given herself no choice. Though, she really had no idea how to properly ask someone out. So the best option she could think of was wrap everything up nicely, and leave it on Pepper’s doorstep. With a note. Taking the easy way out, but she had never really done this sort of thing before.

And then she went back to her floor and proceeded to watch mindless TV to keep herself from dwelling. Either Pepper would respond, or she wouldn’t, and dwelling on either option wouldn’t help Natasha. So she settled herself down in front of her TV and watched whatever happened to come up. It wasn’t really a helpful distraction, but she knew nothing would be. At least her she was being fairly harmless, and she didn’t want to risk questions going down to the range. Also, she wanted to be on her floor in case Pepper did come looking.

About halfway in a second episode of some benign reality TV there was a knock on her door, and Natasha froze. If it wasn’t Pepper, then she really didn’t need to answer it. If it was, she suddenly realized she was not ready for this. Even remotely. There was a second knock, and Nat looked between her door and the TV. She could just hide. Forever. Never leave her floor again, or she could move to Paris. Maybe Antarctica. Alaska was nice this time of year. She could just vanish, and never return, and never have to face Pepper again. A third knock and she finally just turned off the TV. She had to handle it, she couldn’t not. Besides, she was smart enough, the right words would come. She hoped.

A quick peek let her know that it was actually Pepper, holding the cake box. That seemed odd, and Natasha didn’t know how to take it. A deep breath, she actually wondered if she had ever been this nervous in her life, and she opened the door. Facing Pepper.

And she had no idea what to say.

“Now I’m used to cakes showing up, that’s not abnormal. So I would have just assumed it was Tony, or Steve, or someone trying to be nice. But I don’t normally find a cake on top of pile of interesting items. I certainly didn’t expect the cuckoo clock, or the gun. Even the bag was a little out of the ordinary. But there wasn’t a note, and frankly, you’re the only person in this entire Tower that said motley array of gifts could have come from.”

“There wasn’t a note.” It was a statement, not a question, but she had sworn she had left the note. She checked her pocket, and there it was, still in its envelope, only slightly wrinkled. Without another word she just shoved the envelope at Pepper. And was half tempted to shut the door and flee, but instead she stepped aside, inviting Pepper in. 

“I’m assuming this is the note?” She could have kissed Pepper, well, regardless. That was the intended result of this whole debacle. Kissing. Lots of it. But Pepper was intuitive, and smart, and Natasha just watched as Pepper set the cake box on the counter and delicately opened the envelope. She still wasn’t sure why Pepper had brought the cake, was there something wrong with it?

The redhead found herself at loss. She didn’t know what to do, so she shoved both hands in her pockets and stared at the floor. She felt like some blushing schoolgirl, but it really wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know how to do this. It wasn’t like she had been given the chance to learn. After a few moments, Pepper spoke.

“You know, you didn’t have to do all this. All you had to do was ask.” Natasha frowned, her forehead knitting. She wasn’t sure if that was a positive answer or not, so she stayed silent and watched the other woman.

“You really are bad at this.” The words were followed by a laugh as Pepper approached her, until the other woman was standing close enough that Natasha could smell the faint scent of vanilla that seemed to be Pepper’s usual scent. Still, something about Pepper’s statement made her pull away suddenly.

“Bad at what?” She asked, hesitant and looking at the floor as best as she was able to.

“Asking someone out.” Pepper’s answer didn’t alleviate the sudden anger roiling in her gut.

“Who told you I was bad at this?” She backed up a little more, this was concerning. But Pepper blinked once and then laughed.

“No one, I’m not blind. And you’re apparently terrible at keeping your eyes to yourself when you’re not off being a super spy.” Natasha stared at Pepper then relaxed, her entire body going from taunt to limber in the span of a few seconds. 

“I’m that obvious?” She lifted her gaze and kept her eyes on Pepper’s nose, trying not to look elsewhere. She didn’t like being obvious.

“Maybe a little. And you seem to like to take your time, it was getting to the point where I was going to ask first. A few months is acceptable, a few years isn’t.” As Pepper finished speaking she closed the space between them again, this time reaching a hand up and cupping Natasha’s chin. “And if you still haven’t clued in, the answer is yes.” And without warning Pepper pressed her lips against Natasha’s. It took her a moment to figure out, her brain getting hung up on the yes part. But she finally did clue in, the kiss became that much more needy. By the time both of them pulled away, Natasha’s hands were resting on Pepper’s hips, and Pepper had to untangle her hand from Natasha’s hair. 

“So.” The words Natasha wanted to say wouldn’t come, she was still in awe of the fact that her horrible attempt at wooing Pepper actually worked. 

“You’re helping me eat that cake. I do not need an entire chocolate cake to myself.”  
————————————————————————————————————————————————

“You really, really suck at people when you’re not in work mode.” Natasha kneed Clint in the stomach extra hard and he dropped to the mat. “Ow, what was that for?” He was still laughing, trying to get the words out while clutching his stomach on the floor of the training room.

“I try, okay? And hey, at least I didn’t wait for the girl I liked to ask me out first. Laura practically had to bully you into your first date.” She shoved her foot against him, not really kicking, but definitely making her point.

**Author's Note:**

> Posting this with barely half of my mind working, so if I fucked up somewhere, tell me.


End file.
